Romance Etude
by Emmychao
Summary: AllegrettoxPolka. A collection of fluffy one-shots. No one ever said that a romance had to be easy. In fact, there's so much that can and must be learned from one another for it to proceed smoothly.
1. Unconscious Embrace

Romance Etude

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." – George Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin)

Chapter 01

I was exhausted from the constant traveling, but my body refused to let me fall asleep. We were resting in the To Coda Ruins, trying desperately to catch up to Crescendo and Serenade, who planned to give themselves up for the sake of Baroque. Despite the urgency in our task, everyone agreed that it wouldn't hurt to stop for a little while. The pair we were chasing would also have to rest at some point as well.

The group had scattered within a small area to sleep. Only Jazz, Viola, and Falsetto remained awake to keep watch. Jazz and Falsetto had decided to patrol the surrounding area so that left me alone with Viola. I hugged my legs to my chest and stared at the fire in front of me in an effort to distract myself from all of my worries. Viola seemed to take interest in my actions.

"Lonely over there?" she called out softly. I jumped slightly at her question and only buried my face deeper into the folds of my skirt. Viola was most likely preparing to say something to tease me, so I made sure to choose my words carefully.

"I'm fine."

That was a complete lie, and she could see it.

"You know, Allegretto looks lonely over there, too," she commented. Unconsciously, my head automatically snapped over to where the boy in question was sleeping. For some reason, Frederic, Salsa, and March were lying a good couple feet away from him. Even Beat was a good distance away. "See," Viola nodded, "lonely."

I turned back to my friend with a blank expression. What exactly was she implying?

Viola turned her back to me and waved her hand dismissively. "You can go keep him company instead. I'll just leave you alone."

"E-eh? What?" She didn't turn at all and made no sound or gesture to answer me. I pouted slightly at the treatment but brushed it off quickly. More importantly…

I silently moved to Allegretto's side and took the time to study his sleeping face carefully. Viola had been kind enough to give me this chance, so I shouldn't waste it just because I was too embarrassed. His head lolled to the side and caused some of his hair to obscure my view of his face. I frowned a little and hesitantly reached out to brush it back.

"Polka."

The sound of my name from his lips made me squeak and flinch away in shame. My hands flew to my face in an effort to hide my mortification. A moment passed in uncomfortable silence and allowed me to recollect myself. Timidly, I peeked at him through my fingers. Heat rushed to my cheeks at the sight of his calm, unchanged face. Had I just imagined that?

Suddenly, he rolled over toward me, his arm now around my waist.

"A-Allegretto!" I squealed quietly. My eyes frantically flew over to where Viola should've been. She must've decided to join Jazz and Falsetto in their wandering… He started pulling me down beside him, and there was no way I could fight against his strong arms. Resisting was a futile effort, so I eventually allowed myself to lie with him.

Sleep came surprisingly easily after that.

---

The weight on my chest was what forced me awake again. My eyes fluttered open to the sight of silver hair, and when I forced my body to sit up, I was met with one of the greatest surprises of my life. The movement caused Allegretto to wake up as well.

"Hmm?" He blinked tiredly and yawned. "Since when did we have pillows?"

"Allegretto," Viola, now back from her wandering, abruptly answered in a mischievous tone, "That's Polka's chest."

---

A/N: I just randomly churned this out because I was disappointed in the lack of AllegrettoxPolka (so canon!) stories in the Eternal Sonata section here. Shame on you, guys.

Anyway, this is just the first of several one-shots. They'll all be independent from each other for the most part and occur at different points of the story (most likely in the latter half of the game's timeline and beyond).


	2. Unnecessary Charm

Romance Etude

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." – George Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin)

Chapter 02

"_Hey, how about giving it a try next time you see Allegretto?_"

Viola's words were echoing in my head constantly. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't dismiss the urge to try out her charm. I shook my head in a futile attempt to clear my thoughts and glanced around the ballroom for some sort of distraction or sudden inspiration. Several minutes passed in this manner before the nagging idea returned. Would such a charm really–?

"Polka?"

I squeaked and jumped away in surprise. If anyone had come in here, I should've been able to hear them enter! Allegretto just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Are you alright?"

"Um, yes." I tried to sound as normal as I could, but the answer was an octave higher than it should've been to be considered as such. When he stepped closer, it took all of my willpower not to shrink back from him.

"You don't have a fever, do you?" Before I could protest, he had raised a hand to my forehead. I felt my face instantly heat up at the gentle touch of his hand against my skin. A feeling of sparking electricity ran up through my spine, causing me to arch my back in response. My eyes fluttered for a moment before I became aware of our position and forced myself to awkwardly pull away.

"Maybe you should go lie down for a while…" Allegretto suggested softly. "Your face is pretty warm."

I shook my head in reply. Though I wouldn't admit it out loud and to Allegretto of all people, being with him beat being wrongly confined in bed for the rest of the day. We stared each other down in silence for a moment, trying to force the other to yield. Suddenly, Allegretto sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Never mind, then." Another minute passed until an idea seemed to strike him. "Oh yeah, Beat told me that you guys went to a ball when you first came here."

"Yes, we did." There was obviously something else he had wanted to say, so I prompted him to continue. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no! It's just that…" he trailed off and scratched the back of his head. I slightly tilted my head to the side in confusion. "Did you dance with anyone?"

"No, I didn't." I was surprised at how quick and natural my answer was and shyly ducked my head down, so he wouldn't be able to see my flushed face. "I don't know how to dance, so I just stood to the side with Beat and watched everyone else."

"Oh, I see…"

Why would he ask me such a thing? I shifted my weight to my other foot and raised my eyes to the boy in front of me. His face was the first thing I expected to see, not what was currently hovering before me.

He had expectantly held his hand out.

"May I have this dance?" I blinked at his proposal, causing him to laugh. "Don't worry, I'll teach you. After all, when I learned this from the priest back home, it wasn't that hard." Allegretto took a hold of my hand before I could voice any protests and swung me into step with him.

My earlier conversation with Viola came back once again, but it didn't affect me so bad this time. I may have had a tendency to take charms much too seriously, but this time…

A charm wouldn't be necessary.

---

A/N: I forgot to mention this before, but the inspiration for the last chapter came from Allegretto mentioning once that he tosses and turns a lot. As for this chapter, I think the source of inspiration is pretty obvious. Also, you have to wonder… What exactly did everyone do in Baroque for a week?

(P.S. Next chapter is in Allegretto's point of view.)


	3. Unspoken Understanding

Romance Etude

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." – George Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin)

Chapter 03

The first day we spent in Baroque, I quickly found myself bored with the political discussions and quietly excused myself. Everyone else had scattered to different ends of the castle and town while the adults – I scoffed at the word – discussed the next course of action to take. Halls were deserted for the most part, so the few passersby didn't pay me much mind as I excitedly dashed through the wide corridors and down the large staircase. My heavy boots thumped on each step and startled a guard awake. I chuckled slightly when he frantically whirled his head around in search of the culprit.

A big door to his right caught my attention at that moment. Curiosity got the better of me, so I silently strode over to it, mindful of the nearby drowsy guard. I pushed open the large door and was met with quite the sight; the room was larger than the chapel of Ritardando. This must have been the ballroom or something… The heels of my boots lightly clicked against the smooth floor tiles. Within minutes, I had reached the throne and regarded it mischievously.

"Would anyone mind if I sat in it for a bit?" One glance at the stony man next to it discouraged me right away. "Probably not." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a short hall with a door at the end. My feet moved toward it before I could stop myself.

I pushed the door open and immediately came in contact with the Baroque's cool evening air. There were piles of snow everywhere, forming a narrow path. With a shrug, I followed along the wall until something near my feet caught my attention. Its bright colors stood out in the great expanse of white.

A lone flower was braving the bitter cold.

Carefully, I knelt down beside it, a smile unconsciously fighting its way to my face. It was just like Polka… It was fighting against the world for its place and looked just as, if not more, beautiful than its surroundings. Suddenly, an overwhelming urge to protect this blooming wonder came over me. Footsteps shook me out of my reverie and alerted me to the presence of someone else, so I skillfully faded into the chilly ice and made my escape. In my flight, I made an unspoken promise to visit the petite flower the next day.

---

Over the course of several days, visiting the lonely flower had become part of my daily routine. At first, I was satisfied with seeing it once a day… the first day, anyway. Whenever I had taken to wandering the palace, I'd always somehow find myself back in front of that flower again like today. I gently stroked the tiny yet vibrant petals and smiled in satisfaction. A moment passed, and I shook my head in disbelief.

"Why am I obsessing over a flower, of all things?" I knew perfectly well why. Images of a certain girl don't just conveniently flash in your mind when you ask yourself questions like that. Once again and at the same time as always, the usual footsteps crunched the small layer of snow just around the corner. I instinctively stood and prepared to make my getaway but was caught red-handed.

"Allegretto?" I knew that soft voice to be Polka's. Now she was at my side, trying to peer at my face. "What are you doing out here?"

"O-oh, you know…" I nervously scratched the back of my head. "I'm just getting some exercise."

She seemed to hum in approval. A silence fell between us faster than the falling snow. I cleared my throat in preparation to speak.

"So what about you? Why are you out here?"

Polka tilted her head to the side and seemed to dawn a thoughtful expression. "There's a flower that I wanted to check on."

My heart hammered in my chest.

"I want to be strong just like it! But…" she trailed off sadly. "I'm worried about how long it will last. What if its death is inevitable, unavoidable?"

I stooped back down to the snowy earth and cupped the delicate bloom tenderly. "I won't let it die. I'll protect it no matter what, even if –"

Her giggling interrupted my heartfelt speech. "You don't have to go that far, but… I understand." She lowered herself to join me and reached her hand out toward the flower. Our hands touched for a brief moment. When Polka turned her eyes to me, they seemed to twinkle with unspoken emotion. "That makes me happy."

I so wanted to tell her that I was really referring to her, but there was no need. There was only unspoken understanding.

---

A/N: I got sidetracked by homework, but I was finally able to crank this one out. Like I said before, these one-shots are disjointed and don't relate to each other.

If it wasn't already apparent, the inspiration for this one was the little flower in the Baroque Castle side garden and Polka and Allegretto's respective comments about it.


End file.
